There is illustrated herein in embodiments, an architecture including methods and systems for coordinating activities in a distributed system. For example, a distributed system may include a collection of modules, each with its own function. The collection of modules is interconnected to carry out a particular function or functions. The interconnection may be physical and/or logical in nature. Modules may be connected by a network or other communications scheme. Communications media may include wire, coaxial cable, fiber optics and/or radio frequency (RF) transmissions. Embodiments will be described with reference to document processing systems. However, embodiments of the architecture may be beneficially applied in a wide variety of control system environments.
Document processors include, for example, printers, copiers, facsimile machines, finishers and devices for creating documents, such as word processors and desk top publishers. In some instances, document processors provide the services of two or more of these devices. For instance, document processors that provide printing, copying, scanning, and faxing services are available. Printers and copiers can include finishers that staple, shrink wrap or otherwise bind system output. Finishers may also fold or collate documents.
In order to increase throughput, some printers and copiers are being developed which include two or more marking engines. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/924,113 filed Aug. 23, 2004 by Jonas M. M. deJong, et al. for a Printing System with Inverter Disposed for Media Velocity Buffering and Registration, which issued on Oct. 17, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,123,873; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/924,106 filed Aug. 23, 2004 by Robert M. Lofthus, et al. for a Printing System with Horizontal Highway and Single Pass Duplex, which issued on Apr. 4, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,152; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/924,459 filed Aug. 23, 2004 by Barry P. Mandel, et al. for a Parallel Printing Architecture Consisting of Containerized Image Marking Engine Modules, which issued on Nov. 14, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,616; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/860,195 filed Jun. 6, 2004 by Robert M. Lofthus, et al. for a Universal Flexible Plural Printer to Plural Finisher Sheet Integration System, which issued on Jan. 22, 2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,461; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/881,619 filed Jun. 30, 2004 by Daniel G. Bobrow for a Flexible Paper Path Using Multidirectional Path Modules, which issued Jul. 8, 2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,396,012; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/761,522 filed Jan. 21, 2004 by Barry P. Mandel, et al. for a High Print Rate Merging and Finishing System for Parallel Printing, which issued on Dec. 6, 2005 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,286; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/785,211 filed Feb. 24, 2004 by Robert M. Lofthus, et al. for a Universal Flexible Plural Printer to Plural Finisher Sheet Integration System, which issued on Jun. 5, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,049; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/917,768 filed Aug. 13, 2004 by Robert M. Lofthus for a Parallel Printing Architecture Consisting of Containerized Image Marking Engines and Media Feeder Modules, which issued on Mar. 13, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,929, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe aspects of tightly integrated document processing systems including a plurality of marking engines.
Additionally, some printers and copiers are being developed using a hypermodular structure to increase modularity and flexibility. These systems may possess a number of distributed processors, sensors, and actuators. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/357,687 filed Feb. 4, 2003 by David K. Biegelsen, et al., for Media Path Modules, which issued on Aug. 22, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,831; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/357,761 filed Feb. 4, 2003 by Markus P. J. Fromherz, et al., for Frameless Media Path Modules; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/740,705 filed Dec. 19, 2003 by David K. Biegelsen, et al., for a Flexible Director Paper Path Module, which issued Sep. 19, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,108,260; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/812,376 filed Mar. 29, 2004 by David G. Duff, et al., for a Rotational Jam Clearance Apparatus, which issued Mar. 6, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,185,888, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe aspects of tightly integrated document processing systems including hypermodules.
Some systems, including some document processing systems, are based on a centralized control architecture wherein a single computational platform controls all system actuators and receives all system feedback information. These architectures work well where the systems are relatively small and are of a fixed or unchanging configuration. However, as system size increases, the computational capabilities of a single platform can be overwhelmed. Additionally, providing individual interfaces between the single computational platform and each of the sensors and actuators of the system can be impractical. Furthermore, where it is desirable to assemble or reconfigure a system from various subcomponents, the direct interfacing of sensors and actuators to the central platform becomes problematic.
These factors have led to the development of systems based on network communications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,091 B1 to Birchenough, et al. for a Control System and Method Therefore allegedly disclosed an embodiment of a distributed control system including a main control coordinator, three local process station controllers and a designated number of process module controllers, each associated with a process module. The control system allegedly provides a real time operating system and has a communication bus platform provided via an Ethernet™ communication bus and a second bus to connect the controllers in a distributed control network. The Ethernet™ bus connects the main control coordinator and each of the local process station controllers and a continuous motion conveyer controller. Each of the process module controllers are connected via the second bus to designated local process station controllers.
In the system of Birchenough, the main controller agent interacts with each of the process station agents, and each of the process station agents interacts with each of the process module agents that are assigned thereto. During normal manufacturing operation, the main controller coordinator agent sends article notice messages to the process station agents to notify the process station agents of the oncoming articles of manufacture. A process station normally will not process the article of manufacture unless the process station agent that controls a particular process module has received an article notice message indicating that it should do so and the continuous feed indexer has returned a report that it is in proper position. In response, the process station agent notifies the designated process module agent to initiate its programmed process operation. Once the process module has completed its intended operation, the process module agent issues a work report message which is sent to the process station agent. The process station agent then broadcasts the work report message to other process stations as well as to the main control coordinator.
It appears that in the system of Birchenough, et al., a single entity (e.g., the main coordinator) is aware of and maintains information regarding each task, object or workpiece being processed by the system. This may limit the scalability of the system. For example, as the size of the system increases, the capabilities and/or resources of the main control coordinator (or processor running the main control coordinator) may be overwhelmed.
Accordingly, there has been a desire for a distributed control architecture, including systems and methods, that provides for scalability and reconfigurability in a modular system environment.